Nothing like a dash of liquor to add oomph to your starters! Â
1. Bruschetta with Lime and Vodka Prawns
Ingredients
- Medium prawns – 1kg
- Lime juice – ¼ cup
- Vodka – ¾ cup
- Baguette – 24 slices
- Olive oil – ½ cup
- Garlic – 5 cloves, sliced thinly
- Spring onions – 2, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Lime zest and parsley to garnish
Method
- Toast or grill slices of bread brushed with 2 tbsp olive oil till golden. Set aside.
- In a medium pan, sauté garlic and spring onions in 4 tbsp of olive oil on medium heat till lightly golden.
- Add the prawns and sauté till both sides are bright pink, 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
- Reduce lime juice and vodka by 2/3 over high heat.
- Add prawns to the sauce and cook for just a couple of minutes. Season well.
To assemble
- Lay the slices of baguette on a serving platter.
- On the slices, place a prawn each with a tbsp of the vodka sauce.
- Garnish with parsley and the greens of the onions.
2. Tequila Salsa
Ingredients
- Tomato – 2 cups, deseeded
- Coriander/cilantro – ½ cup
- Avocado – 1 (medium), peeled and chopped
- Onion – 2 (medium), chopped
- Tequila – 3 tbsp
- Lime juice – 2 tbsp
- Garlic – 3 cloves, minced/grated
- Salt to taste
Method
- Combine all the ingredients and toss like you would any salad. Serve cold with nachos or crackers.
- Serve with sour cream and guacamole.
3. Whisky Peanut Butter
Ingredients
- Peanuts (raw) – 2 ½ cups
- Good quality whisky/bourbon – 3 tbsp
- Vanilla extract – 2 tbsp
- Cinnamon – ½ tsp (optional)
- Salt to taste
Method
- Preheat oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees C.
- Grill peanuts on a tray with baking paper or parchment for 5-8 minutes or till you can smell the nuts.
- In a food processor or blender, grind the warm peanut butter for ½ a minute to 1 minute.
- Add the whisky/bourbon, salt and vanilla to the mixture and grind until the mix begins to liquefy.
- Grind long enough to get the desired texture (smooth/crunchy).
- Taste before transferring the peanut butter to a sterile glass jar.
- Serve with bruschetta, crackers or crudités.
- Add chili powder for an added kick
4. Rich Chocolate Rum Balls
Ingredients
- Chocolate cake – 600g, crumbled
- Rum – ½ cup
- Condensed milk – 200g
- Instant coffee powder – 1 tbsp
- Cocoa – 1 tbsp
- Hot water – ¼ cup
- Dark chocolate – 600g
- Chocolate sprinkles – 2 cups
Method
- In a bowl, add the fine cake crumbs.
- Mix the cocoa and coffee in another bowl with the hot water.
- Add the cocoa paste to the crumbs.
- Add the rum and then the condensed milk.
- Mix well.
- Refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour at least.
- Once cool, Roll 1½ tsp of the mixture into balls.
- Melt the chocolate on low heat.
- Dip each ball into the melted chocolate and shake off excess.
- Roll the rum balls in the chocolate sprinkles.
- Place each rum ball in small patty paper cases.
- Refrigerate till ready to serve.
5. Beer Batter Fish
Ingredients
- Plain Flour – 50 g
- Cornflour – 50g
- Baking powder – 1 tsp
- Turmeric – for color
- Beer – 75ml
- Plain soda – 75ml
- Basa or any white fish – 400g, cut into sticks or squares
- Sunflower oil – 1 liter
- Salt to taste
Method
- In a large bowl, sift and mix the dry ingredients. (Set aside 2 tbsp).
- Add the beer and soda to the dry ingredients.
- Mix till the batter is lump-free.
- Allow it to rest for ½ hour.
- Heat the oil in a deep sauce pan or fryer. The oil is ready when a drop of the batter becomes crisp almost immediately.
- Dip the fish into the dry mix that was set aside.
- Shake excess off and dip in the beer batter.
- Depending on the thickness of the fish, fry the fish for 7-8 minutes until golden crisp.
- Place the fish on napkins to remove any excess oil.
- Season with salt.
- Serve hot.
6. Baileys Fudge
Ingredients
- Condensed milk – 1 can
- Butter – 95g, cubed
- Brown sugar – 240g
- Golden syrup – 2 tbsp
- Dark chocolate – 150g, finely chopped
- Baileys/Kahlua – 60ml
Method
- In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients, except for the liqueur and stir on medium to low heat.
- Once the sugar dissolves, raise the heat to medium-high.
- Stirring constantly for 10 to 12 minutes, the mixture will start to pull away from the sides.
- Remove from heat and pour onto a tray lined with baking parchment.
- Cool completely before cutting into squares.
- Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate.
 7. Whisky Marinade
Ingredients
- Brown sugar – 1/3 cup
- Whisky – ½ cup
- Soy sauce – ¼ cup
- Olive oil – ¼ cup
- Garlic powder – ½ tsp
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Choice of meat (pork, chicken or beef)
Method
- Mix sugar with the whisky.
- Add olive oil.
- To the mix, add the remaining ingredients.
- Marinade the meat of your choice in an airtight container.
- Shake the container to evenly coat the meat.
- Refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours before cooking.
- Add chili powder to spice it up.